Weekly Newspaper and Tourism Guide for Ward County Trans Pecos, Big Bend of West Texas

SPORTS

Dec. 18, 1997

Loboes fare well in Sandhills tourney

On the second weekend in every December comes the moment of
truth for both boys and girls Lobo basketball. Of course,
the annual Monahans Sandhills Tournament means precisely
nothing when district comes around. But it always seems to
be the cornerstone of both the men's and women's season.
Winning or losing, the Loboes always play well at their
tournament. And 1997 was no exception.

The Lobo varsity basketball teams each showed tremendous
play at the 1997 Sandhills Tournament. The women took 4th
place while the men finished eighth.

Early in the season, the girl's basketball team has seemed
to be the victim of a tough schedule. Playing tough
opponents, including perennial 3A powerhouse Seminole, the
Loboes failed to garner a win, despite playing tough
basketball. Fans, followers, and media all knew it was
merely a matter of time before the girls could place a "W"
on their record.

It didn't take long once the tournament started last week..

The girls opened up play Thursday night, Dec. 11, against
rival Fort Stockton. Behind a superb overall effort, the
girls garnered their first win of the season by defeating
the Panthers, 43-21. Coach Mike Swigert remarked that the
girls played some of their finest basketball thus far in the
season that game. The Loboes were lead by Juniors Tracie
Jasso and Lori Enriquez. Jasso tallied 13 points, while
Enriquez put up 8 in the winning cause.

The win secured the women a spot in the Championship
bracket of the tournament. In the semifinals, the girls
took on El Paso Irvin. Despite a hard fought battle, the
girls fell short, losing to 5A Irvin, 36-18. Senior post
Amanda Sanchez led the Loboes with 8 points.

The loss to Irvin set the Loboes back, both literally and
figuratively. The loss to Irvin seemed to drain the Loboes,
but they did not lose their fight. On Saturday afternoon,
the Loboes took on Pecos for third place. The Loboes came
out with something to prove and definitely proved it,
despite a 48-34 loss. The Loboes showed unmatched effort
and fight in the loss, as once again Junior Lori Enriquez
took over. Enriquez totalled 24 points, a game and season
high. The girls finished in 4th place in the tournament.

The men's basketball team also had their share of hardships
in the 1997 Sandhills tournament. The Loboes had several
reasons to give up. These guys had only been playing
together totally for under two weeks, allowing little time
to get crucial timing down and learning how each other works
on the court. Not to mention, the Loboes had arguably the
hardest draw in the tournament, beginning with a game 7:30
Thursday night against 4A San Elizario.

However, they refused to give up-that's why they have the
right to wear "Loboes" on their jerseys.

The Loboes played tough Thursday night against a tough San
Elizario team, ultimately falling 57-44. The Loboes had a
total team effort despite the loss, as many players off the
bench came in and made important offensive and defensive
contributions. Sr. Cody Avary led the Loboes with 10
points, while Jr. David Williams followed up with 9.

With the loss, the Loboes advanced to play at 1:30 Friday
afternoon against defending New Mexico State Champion
Artesia, who lost to El Paso Bowie in the first round. The
Loboes, in front of a huge crowd of fans and most of the
Monahans High School student body, fell against the
Bulldogs, 72-55. The Loboes trailed 47-24 at halftime, but
came out firing in the second half. After the Bulldogs
pulled off a nice Alley-Oop to start the scoring in the
second half, the Loboes went on to outscore the Bulldogs in
the half 31-23. The Loboes pulled to within 15 in the
fourth quarter, playing reserve players, which prompted the
Artesia coach to put back in his starters. This failed to
stop the Lobo attack, but ultimately the clock did, and
Artesia left victorious. Senior Chris Allen led the Loboes
with 13 points, while Junior Jason Merrick scored eight.
Sophomore Chris Adams also pitched in eight, all in the
fourth quarter.

The Loboes then participated in the seventh place game
against El Paso Mountain View. The game, which began at
10:30 am Saturday morning, was expected to be over by Noon.
This was not the case. The Loboes (Monahans) and the Lobos
(Mountain View) fought hard for four quarters. Tied at the
end of regulation, Lobo and Lobo played two more quarters in
overtime. When all was said and done, the Lobos from El
Paso emerged victorious 53-50 in double-overtime. Cody
Avary once again hauled in the big load, leading the Loboes
with 24 points. Senior Brandon Stephens also pitched in
eight in the losing cause.

Monahans women whip Buena Vista

Monahans broke a three game slide Tuesday night, Dec. 16.
with a 47-34 win over Buena Vista in women's basketball.

The Loboes went into the half time leading by only five, but
had an explosive third quarter out scoring Buena Vista 7-13
to pull out the win.

Leading Lobo scorer was five-foot-seven inch junor guard and
forward Lori Enriquez who scored 16 of the Loboes 47 points.

Overall, the coach notes, the women's swimming team finished
sixth (49 points); the men, seventh (27 points).The
competition in Seminole begins the Christmas Recess for
swimming competition at Monahans High School although
practices continue. The next meet is in Fort Stockton on
Jan. 10, 1997,.